James Hahn moved into the lead after three rounds in Texas, while Jason Day shot a 7-under 63 to get in the hunt.
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LA QUINTA, Calif. - Every time Si Woo Kim looked up at the leaderboards on the back nine Sunday at The American Express, he seemed to see another Patrick Cantlay birdie being posted. But not even a career-best 11 birdies and 11-under 61 from Cantlay could keep Kim from his third career PGA TOUR victory and first since THE PLAYERS Championship in 2017. He closed with an 8-under 64 which tied for the second best round of the day and was his third bogey-free round of the week. "I had many chances since PLAYERS. I had many chances to win, but I couldn’t make it, but finally I made it," Kim said. "So I tried to keep composure and I made it. I’m so happy with that." Despite being just 25 years old, Kim, who earned his PGA TOUR card at the age of 17, felt the weight of that nearly four-year wait since his last victory. That pressure made sleeping on the 54-hole co-lead Saturday night a difficult proposition. "So every year I had a chance to win, but I couldn’t make it, so I had a lot of thoughts in my mind last night," Kim said. "I tried to sleep but I couldn’t sleep, so I even took melatonin last night, but still I didn’t sleep very well." Cantlay certainly didn't make it any more comfortable on him on the course either, posting arguably what might be the best final round of the 2021 season to date. After grabbing the lead with a front-nine 30, Cantlay poured in five more on the back nine including a 38-foot drifter at the last to post 22-under nearly an hour before Kim was set to finish. Trailing by one with three holes to play as Cantlay warmed up on the range for a potential playoff, Kim hit a 3-wood into the par-5 16th that defied all aspects of physics to kick straight on to the green for a two-putt birdie instead of towards whatever could await in the brutal 19-foot bunker protecting the left. Entering the island green of the par-3 17th, better known as Alcatraz, Kim hoped to escape with a par but instead escaped with a birdie and a lead he'd never relinquish, rolling in a 19-foot breaker that seemed to only have one roll left in before it dumped in the front and sent Kim into a fist-pumping frenzy. "I wanted, at least I want to go to make the playoff, so I tried to focus on speed and then actually Max Homa’s putt helped me a lot, so I knew how it goes," Kim said. "So I just focused on speed and I hit it very confidently." Ironically, Kim's latest victory once again comes on a Pete Dye-designed golf course, but that wasn't the only similarity between Sunday in La Quinta and his PLAYERS win almost four years ago. At TPC Sawgrass, Kim's signature moment came when he ripped driver-off-the-deck from the right rough on the par-4 14th on to the green en route to victory. He went back to the well on Sunday, pulling driver from the middle of the fairway on the par-5 11th with 290 to the hole and water staring at him just left of the green. "Yeah, I hit driver today on No. 11. There was water on left side, and I thought I had enough distance for my driver," Kim said. "So I tried to keep it safe, so that’s why I didn’t hit the 3-wood and then I tried to use the mound on the right side, so that’s why I hit the driver-off-the-deck there." His fearlessness worked once again as Kim got up-and-down for birdie, a hole that proved pivotal in separating him from 54-hole co-leader Tony Finau who made bogey and dropped out of contention. Finau, who entered the 11th just one back of Kim, will have to endure the sting of another victory escaping his grasps. After pouring in back-to-back birdies to start the final round and testy par putts at No. 3 and No. 6., this final round seemed like it may be different for Finau. But the putter that Finau said had to support him if he was going to win Sunday ultimately let him down with a missed 4-foot birdie at No. 7 and a missed 3-foot par at the 11th after hooking his approach into the par-5 into the water. Finau went on to finsh solo-fourth, his 19th top five since his last win at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. "Yeah, that’s probably where I’m looking back on the back nine where I had some momentum and hit a good tee shot on 11. I had a take a little bit off my 3-iron so I decided to just hit a really low draw and just barely pulled it, just enough for it to go in the water," Finau said. "All hope wasn’t lost, of course, I should have been able to get that up-and-down. I was almost too confident in that short putt, I hit it too hard. Still thought I made it and it just power lipped out. "So that was a tough pill to swallow at the time because I just never thought I was going to walk away with 6 there and there we were on the 12th tee, having bogeyed the hole before, so. But, you know, as I know in this game, golf goes on, life goes on, after that hole I got to keep playing and keep pushing, trying to make birdies coming in. Si Woo did a great job this week and he’s a well-deserved champion."
Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff are two of the most exciting young players on the PGA TOUR. Morikawa already has four wins, including a major and World Golf Championship, while the 22-year-old Wolff is just the third player to win the NCAA title and a PGA TOUR title in the same season. He also finished in the top four of two majors last year. The two stars are teaming up together at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans in hopes of securing another title. Morikawa is known for his precise iron play, while Wolff unique, powerful swing and his prowess off the tee is his trademark So with that, let’s take a look inside the bags of these TaylorMade staff players to see how their setups compare. Drivers Morikawa: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees @ 8.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX Wolff: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (10.5 degrees @ 9 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 7 TX The most interesting contrast between these two driver setups is the way they configure the loft using the adjustable sleeve. Morikawa prefers to use a lower-lofted driver and close the face, which actually increases loft, while Wolff goes with a higher-lofted driver and opens the face to decrease loft. Even though the stated loft numbers on the drivers is 2.5 degrees apart, once adjusted, they’re only separated by half of a degree. There are a lot of reasons players might choose to play a driver more open or closed-looking, but the general consensus is about creating the right optics from address to inspire confidence. Fairway woods Morikawa: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees @ 13.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX/TaylorMade SIM2 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX Wolff: TaylorMade SIM2 Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD XC 8 X Just like with his driver, Morikawa uses the adjustable hosel to dial in the loft and the look he wants at address with his 3-wood. He opens the face to reduce the loft, while Wolff leaves his set to standard. Morikawa also carries a 5-wood to create proper gapping into his irons, whereas Wolff only has a single 3-wood. Both players have a lot of clubhead speed: Morikawa averages close to 114 mph with his driver, and Wolff is at 122 mph. The 5-wood helps create spin and height a lot easier than a 3-iron, which means the ball comes in higher and stops sooner, which is crucial when hitting approach shots into long holes. Irons Morikawa: TaylorMade P770 (4-iron), P7MC (5-6), TaylorMade P730 (7-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wolff: TaylorMade P7MC (3-PW) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Morikawa plays a mixed set of TaylorMade irons that includes a faster-faced, foam-filled 4-iron, which transitions to a small cavity back with his 5- and 6-irons and then blades with his short irons. This gives a little extra forgiveness in the long irons, the preferred trajectory with each club and maintains a proper gap in the distance between each of his irons. Wolff, on the other hand, uses a single model throughout his entire set. This could be for a number of reasons, including having a consistent look from club to club. Wedges Morikawa: TaylorMade MG2 (50, 60 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design SM8 56-14F (bent to 55 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Wolff: TaylorMade MG2 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-09LB) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Both golfers use the same 50, 56, and 60-degree wedge setup. The only tweak is that Morikawa has his 56-degree wedge bent one degree strong to fit particular yardage. A three-wedge setup (three wedges beyond a pitching wedge) is by far the most common configuration on TOUR because, with so many shots hit inside 100 yards, having a club for any situation can save valuable strokes. Putters Morikawa: TaylorMade Spider FCG Wolff: TaylorMade TP Berwick Both the TaylorMade Spider FCG and the TP Berwick are mallet-style putters that offer higher MOI and grooved inserts to improve ball roll around the face. FCG stands for Forward Center of Gravity, and Morikawa’s Spider putter is specifically designed to play like a blade but offer the alignment of a bigger front-to-back mallet putter. Balls Morikawa: TaylorMade TP5 Wolff: TaylorMade TP5 ’21 Pix Both golfers use the same model ball, which should work well this week in Zurich’s team format. The only difference is Wolff uses the “Pix” version of TaylorMade’s TP5 ball, which features extra graphics for alignment. The TP5 is a slightly softer and higher-spinning ball compared to TaylorMade’s other premium option, the TP5x. Using the same model means each golfer won’t have to make any adjustments for distance or shot preference around the greens. As for graphics or no graphics during the alternate shot —we’ll leave that debate up to Collin and Matthew. Grips Morikawa: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord Wolff: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord (+3 double-sided tape) Both Morikawa and Wolff play the same model of grip. Wolff has three extra layers of tape under his, however, to make them thicker. Although their clubs are similar, it’s the small details of each set that allows both players to perform their best and makes them one of the teams to watch this week.
In a memo sent to its membership Wednesday, the PGA TOUR announced four additional events that will have elevated purses and guaranteed appearances by the TOUR’s top players in 2023. These four events join the 13 announced by Commissioner Jay Monahan at this year’s TOUR Championship. RELATED: How players qualify for 2023’s events with elevated purses The four events announced Wednesday, which will each have a $20 million purse, are the WM Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship. The previously announced events that will offer increased purses and have commitments from the TOUR’s top players are: • The four majors and THE PLAYERS • Three FedExCup Playoffs events (FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, TOUR Championship) • Three player-hosted invitationals (Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Memorial Tournament presented by Workday) • Sentry Tournament of Champions • WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Players who finished in the top 20 in the 2022 Player Impact Program are required to participate in all elevated events for which they are eligible, as well as at least three additional events. The commitment to compete in a pre-determined schedule, and play at least 20 times per year, is the result of unprecedented collaboration among the TOUR’s top players. “Our top players are firmly behind the TOUR,” Commissioner Monahan said at the TOUR Championship, where Rory McIlroy won his third FedExCup title. “Helping us deliver an unmatched product to our fans, who will be all but guaranteed to see the best players competing against each other in 20 events or more throughout the season. This is an extraordinary and unprecedented commitment, a testament to who these guys are and what they believe in.” Bringing the top players in the game together more often is a huge win for fans and partners, as well. “When I tune into a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, I expect to see Tom Brady throw a football,” McIlroy said at the TOUR Championship. “When I tune into a Formula 1 race, I expect to see Lewis Hamilton in a car.” The four events announced Wednesday represent some of the TOUR’s longest-standing events and are played at some of its most recognizable venues. The WM Phoenix Open dates back to 1932, while the RBC Heritage (1969) and Travelers Championship (1952) each debuted more than a half-century ago. TPC Scottsdale hosts the TOUR’s highest-attended event and is home to the famed par-3 16th. Harbour Town Golf Links, which has hosted the RBC Heritage every year since its inception, was a collaboration between World Golf Hall of Famers Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus and the first course designed by each man to be used on TOUR. The Travelers’ host venue, TPC River Highlands, has hosted the TOUR for nearly 40 years and is home to one of the most exciting finishing stretches on TOUR. The Wells Fargo Championship debuted 20 years ago; its host venue, Quail Hollow Club, first hosted a TOUR event in the 1960s and has also served as the site for the PGA Championship and this year’s Presidents Cup. The four events announced Wednesday will continue to award 500 FedExCup points to the winner, as opposed to 550 to the winner of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, and Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, as previously announced. The robust slate of events with elevated purses and commitments from top players is the result of an ongoing process of collaboration between the TOUR and its top players that included a players-only meeting at this year’s BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware. While the commitment from the game’s stars to compete in these events is groundbreaking, players throughout the TOUR’s membership stand to benefit from these elevated purses. The events with elevated purses will retain their traditional eligibility criteria in 2023, allowing for 120-plus players to compete for these increased purses most weeks. Players will continue to have the chance to make history each week they compete on the PGA TOUR, as well, just as Tom Kim did in winning the Wyndham Championship, where he became the second-youngest winner on TOUR since World War II. Only Jordan Spieth, who won the 2013 John Deere Classic at age 19, was younger. The changes for 2023 are in concert with other enhancements announced by Commissioner Monahan at the TOUR Championship, including an expansion of the Player Impact Program and a league minimum of $500,000 in earnings for anyone with a TOUR card, as well as other sweeping changes. The four newly-announced elevated events are for 2023 only; four entirely different tournaments could reach that designation in 2024. As always, the PGA TOUR will continue to evaluate and evolve to ensure the heritage and success of every tournament on its schedule.
